The End
by Shadyyyy
Summary: Short one this time. Ulrich's death from terminal lung cancer.


As I lay on my deathbed, one thing became a constant. That time was a fixed construct. Nothing I did or didn't do could make it move slower or quicker. All I could do was just sit there and wait for my time to come. I found it hard to even get the strength to breathe anymore. The fact that my young life was coming to an end made many things rush into my mind. One was the love of my life, Yumi Ishiyama. The person who meant more to me than anything in the world. Day after day she sat next to my hospital bed, reminiscing of times past. When we met in that Pencak Silat class. When we first went to Lyoko. When we first acknowledged our relationship. Our first kiss. The first time we made love. She had been sitting by my side from my terminal diagnosis of Stage IV lung cancer to this very moment. She held my hand almost the whole time. At sixteen years old that kind of disease is rare. But that was just it, though. I accepted the fact I was going to die soon, so the first couple of months I lived like I was dying. I did everything in life I ever wanted to do. Yumi and I got drunk once, we got high once. We had sex. Well, more than once actually. We rode around the French countryside in motorcycles all the way to Monaco and back. We went to the most expensive restaurant in Paris. We saw everything there was to see in Paris. These last few months we loved a lifetime. More than I ever thought was possible. But all that leads to tomorrow, when I'm scheduled to leave this earth. Yumi called Jeremie, Aelita, and Odd, and asked them to come down to the hospital to say goodbye. My breathing has become incredibly labored, and I know I'm about at my lifelong limit on breaths. I have been bedridden for about a week. I have lost all control over basic bodily functions and am now about ready to find out once and for all what's on the other side. I don't know if I'll see eternal darkness or eternal sunshine, but it will answer my question for sure. Sure, it sucks to leave this life that I know so well, but I will never be forgotten on Earth. I've done everything I need to. I have no regrets. I think I'll just go to sleep and enjoy my last night of Earth dreams.

* * *

I woke up this morning to see my friends standing beside my bed all about to cry.

There was Jeremie Belpois, the nerd who introduced me a brave new world called Lyoko and all the wonders in it. The person who was so thankful to have me in his life. Over the course of the time we knew each other, I watched him go from a friendless geek to a man. That's what came out of him. Nothing but maturity in the face of adversity.

There was Aelita Schaeffer. She was so naïve but because of all of us she found out how to live life and be human enough for anyone to believe.

There was Odd Della Robbia. He was my best friend and the person who understood me the most. He knew what was wrong with me before I even told him. That was his gift. He knew what I meant to him too much to just let anything slide. Odd was the person who really became the family I wish I always had. I'll miss him a lot.

And then there was Yumi. My love and my life. She just stood there and looked at me. Then, she grabbed my emaciated hand and began gently stroking it and she finally said, "Are you ready, Ulrich?"

The only thing I said to her was this, with a smile: "Ready for what?"

She gleamed back at me with those beautiful eyes and began to cry. I probably had about five minutes left in me, maybe less.

I said to Odd, "Take care, good buddy." He nodded.

I said to Jeremy, "Keep it up, and marry her." I pointed towards Aelita.

I said nothing to Aelita but blew her a kiss.

I looked at Yumi and simply told her "I love you."

The last thing I said was, "The greatest things in life come at the smallest prices." I guess that wasn't too bad for famous last words. I leaned back and let go of Yumi's hand. And then in that precise moment in time, I let go of my spirit and breathed my last. I flew up hundreds of feet in seconds and looked back down on everything in my life as it occurred, from birth to death. I looked up and saw a massive collection of lights, cosmos and stars. I was in another world. A world of unique sounds, scents and sights. I knew it the minute I got there what the answer to my question was. Eternal happiness. I just had to wait for my friends. The final question I had would was "How long would that be?"

**R&R, follow me for more stories.**


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